“Have I mentioned that one thing a critic learns, over time, is that there is not a single Right Way to hear music? … And that brings us to the slippery notion of taste. No matter what critics may assert, taste is both individual and fluid. Yes, there are rules and standards separating the tasteful from the crude, and in theory, there are absolutes and boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed. But if you listen long enough, you’ll hear a good many of them crossed after all.”
Tag: 09.18.15
Ig Nobels 2015: Insect Sting Pain Scale, Unboiling An Egg, And ‘Huh?’
“Professors, researchers, students and actual Nobel laureates from around the world gathered at Harvard University at the 25th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, the absurdist celebration of science that ‘makes you laugh, then think’.”
The Hirshhorn’s New Director Isn’t Snubbing DC, She’s Trying To Save The Museum
“Few of her critics could possibly know the depths of the crisis at D.C.’s favorite bunker. She arrived at a museum in much worse shape than people on the outside knew. The staff was depleted, a result of natural attrition but also chaos over the last few years.”
Former Granta Editor Launches Starry New Literary Journal
“Two and a half years ago, the critic and editor John Freeman abruptly resigned his post as editor in chief of Granta, the tweedy British literary magazine that he’d spent several years remaking for a 21st-century readership. … Finally, last summer, Freeman announced the more long-term venture everyone was waiting for: Freeman’s, a Granta-like literary magazine-meets-anthology that he would publish regularly in partnership with Grove Atlantic.” The first issue arrives next week.
Italian Gov’t Declares Cultural Sites ‘Essential Services’ After Unions Lock Tourists Out Of Colosseum
“Unionized workers at the Roman amphitheatre held a 2½ meeting in the morning, keeping the gates locked until they had finished their discussions. They said the stoppage was within their rights, but confusion reigned outside the Colosseum.” In response, the Cabinet put cultural sites alongside hospitals and transit on the list of essential services in which work stoppages are restricted.
Charlie Chaplin Was A Real Outlaw (And Not Just Cinematically)
“Chaplin’s art overflowed the bounds of cinema and raised the tides of history; but Chaplin’s life also overflowed the bounds of law and norms and submerged those who stood in the path of his desires.” As the man himself wrote, “I have no morals in the sense that I abide with them in awe. I respect no book of rules for they have been written by someone else.”
Zaha Hadid Pulls Out Of Tokyo Olympic Stadium Project
The British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid has abandoned her attempt to re-enter the race to build the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, two months after her initial design was scrapped amid soaring construction costs.
An Aboriginal Painter, Famous Enough At Home, Finds Himself Also Pretty Big In New York
“Some of the stories, which are told in song, can be painted for public consumption, but others are too sacred or powerful to be revealed to outsiders. ‘My land, my country,’ said Mr. Tjapaltjarri, the only English words he uttered during an interview, pointing at a painting with a circle made out of dots.”
The (Surprisingly) Thriving Queer Art Scene In The Midwest
“People in larger cities probably have the opinion of queer people in the Midwest that they are surrounded by narrow-mindedness or having a bigger struggle. That’s true, but there are beautiful things happening in a lot of cities, like St. Louis and Kansas City — even Denver. There is a cultivation of acceptance happening. We have a lot of really positive representation within the queer communities, and it’s just starting to trickle out to the outer areas.”
Denzel Washington To Bring All 10 Of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle Plays To HBO
“‘I’ve been given the opportunity by the August Wilson estate, he did 10 plays—I’m directing, producing and acting in one, and I’m executive producing the other nine,’ said Mr. Washington. ‘I made a deal with HBO. We’re going to do one a year for the next nine years.'”